ISLAMABAD: A young doctor who just completed his MBBS and began his house job had his registration denied by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) due to an admission dispute between his college and the council.

Usman Afzal, 25, is a graduate of the Khyber Medical College (KMC) Peshawar, and recently began his house job. He said most students cannot begin their house jobs without registering with the council but because the Khyber Teaching Hospital is an affiliated hospital of the college, he was not asked about his registration when he began his house job.

“But I fear my house job won’t carry any worth, especially abroad, because at the international level the house job begins after registration with regulatory bodies,” he said.

In 2009, Mr Afzal applied for admission and was ranked 30th on the merit list. The college was allowed to admit 250 students according to the council’s regulations, but instead admitted 277. He said after that, the college made a list of students in alphabetical order and his name was placed 258th because his name begins with a ‘U’.

Students struggle to get registered after medical schools go over PMDC’s limits for admissions

“I wasn’t aware of it for almost five years because the college was dealing with PMDC, but after I completed my MBBS and tried to get registered I learnt that the council doesn’t consider me a student because it only allowed 250 students,” he said.

“Without a registration certificate, I can’t apply for any public or private sector job or a foreign job. I can’t even start FCPS [Fellow of College of Physicians and Surgeons] because I don’t have registration,” he said.

“Last year, the college management said the council elections were going on so the issue would be addressed soon, but there hasn’t been any practical progress in my case even after the new management arrived.”

This problem is not unique. Medical colleges across the country admit more students than allowed by the council, and the consequences more often than not, are faced by the students.

Ghulam Datagir, a student at Gomal Medical College (GMC), is in a similar situation. In 2009, GMC admitted 85 students despite being allowed only 50. PMDC refused to register the students ranked below 50 in the list sent to the council. Mr Dastagir has been trying to get registered for seven months.

Last week, around 30 students from six medical schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa came to Islamabad to have their problems addressed. They held a meeting with PMDC member Tah Mohammad, and even travelled to Bani Gala to meet PTI chairperson Imran Khan. They were informed that Mr Khan could not meet them but would take up the matter with the KP health minister.

A PMDC official said over-admission had been a constant problem, and irked the council every year.

“Medical colleges cannot admit students over their limit but they do it to earn more money. In the end it becomes a problem for the council because the students say they didn’t know about the issue and they paid their fees because the colleges admitted them,” he said.

“Last year, the former management registered students by imposing a Rs5,000 fine, which colleges paid happy because they earn millions of rupees from each students, so they don’t mind paying a fine of just Rs5,000 per students.

“Now we have been considering amending the rules and devising a strategy to stop over-admission on a permanent basis, because we get a few hundred such cases every year.”

KMC principal Prof Ejaz Hassan Khan said over-admissions had been reported in the past, but he had been working to address the matter.

Mr Khan, who is also the chairperson of the KP Joint Admission Committee, said: “I have visited PMDC and asked that the issue be addressed soon, in the best interests of the students. I am sure the students will be registered soon,” he said.

PMDC president Dr Shabir Lehri told Dawn the problem was common in colleges across the country.

He said: “Council members have discussed the issue and we will soon issue a notification that, in case of over-admission, 100pc of the fees collected from the student for five years must be submitted to the council as a fine.”

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2016